


The Hottest Air You've Ever Breathed

by scatter



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Aphrodisiacs, Community: badbadbathhouse, Dungeon, F/F, M/M, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-26
Updated: 2011-04-26
Packaged: 2017-10-18 17:20:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/191331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scatter/pseuds/scatter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The fog in the bathhouse is a slow-acting aphrodisiac.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Hottest Air You've Ever Breathed

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a prompt at the Persona 4 Kink Meme: _The fog in the bathhouse has slow-acting aphrodisiac effects on people of the same sex. OKAY YOU LOVE IT GO_

**Floor 1**  
The first thing they noticed was the steam and the way it clouded up their glasses. Taking them off was out of the question because of the fog that filled the TV world and so they were forced to deal with the discomfort of having their vision impaired.

Next was the heat. Souji could feel his shirt starting to stick to him already and they hadn't even left the changing room yet. He wasn't looking forward to going deeper into the bathhouse, but saving Kanji was worth being uncomfortable.

"It is just me or does it smell weird in here?" Yosuke rubbed his nose and eyed the door to the next room suspiciously.

Souji took a deep breath but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. "Maybe there are sweaty guys hiding somewhere."

"Not funny."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Yukiko and Chie were waiting for him to take the lead. If they felt any reluctance to go into the bathhouse, they hid it better than Yosuke.

Souji hefted his sword and started forward. "No use waiting around. Let's go."

 **Floor 2**  
Despite Yosuke's grumbled insistence that he could smell something, Yukiko hadn't noticed anything odd about the bathhouse. Well, anything besides the obvious. It was almost relaxing, actually, at least for the first few minutes. The heat reminded her of the hot springs she enjoyed, and if the Shadows were off-putting at least it kept things interesting. With her friends around her, Chie especially, she managed to keep herself from being overtaken by worry.

Speaking of Chie, Yukiko rounded a corner at the same moment as her friend and their shoulders brushed together. It was nothing really, but it was such a pleasant moment of pressure that Yukiko fanned herself and laughed. She just managed to stop herself before it could bubble up into the uncontrollable laughing fit that sometimes overtook her. "I'm so sorry, Chie."

"No, it was my fault." Chie rubbed the back of her neck, under the collar of the jacket she hadn't bothered to take off. Yukiko couldn't imagine how hot she must have been under it, covered from throat to wrists, but it was just like Chie to keep it on and push herself, growing stronger through discomfort. It was one of the qualities Yukiko liked about her friend.

Still, the Shadows were already giving them a more than adequate workout. There was no reason to suffer needlessly. Perhaps she should reach forward and pull the zipper down herself, take the step that Chie wasn't willing to take.

Just to help her cool off, of course. It was ridiculous that the idea was making her warmer. Odd. Maybe they had passed more coals when she wasn't looking?

She fanned herself harder.

"H-hey, Yukiko, after we're done with this, do you want to go out and do something?" Chie closed one eye and tilted her head as she often did when thinking hard about something. "Like, Souzai Daigaku? ...Or somewhere?"

"That sounds like a great idea." Steak always put Chie in a good mood, and a good mood would make it easier for Yukiko to...

She had no idea what was at the end of that thought but the suggestion of it, of something that couldn't quite be expressed in words, made her giggle anyway.

 **Floor 3**  
The bathhouse was awful. The combination of unrelenting heat and moisture were enough but every time they advanced a floor they'd hear some creepy comment from Kanji.

How Souji managed to stay so composed was beyond Yosuke. No matter what kind of Shadow they ran into, he never faltered and he never voiced a complaint about their surroundings. It was cool and inspiring and Yosuke was glad to follow someone who obviously had such control over himself. But it was also kind of annoying.

Which was why Yosuke enjoyed Souji's little habits so much, the ones that let him know Souji was actually feeling something. He probably didn't realize it, but Souji had a habit of worrying his bottom lip between his teeth when he was thinking about something he didn't like. He was doing it now as he considered which way they should go, one hand resting on a cocked hip and his teeth chewing and biting and releasing in a slow, absent-minded cycle.

"This place sucks, doesn't it?"

"Huh?" Souji looked at him blankly for a moment. Yosuke could almost see the gears in his head shifting, drawing him back from wherever he had been. "Well, I can think of a few other places I'd rather be right now."

"Tell me about it. When I get home, I'm soaking in the tub for an hour." Yosuke lowered his headphones and pushed his hair away from his face, where it had been plastered by sweat.

"Sounds like a good idea. Maybe I'll do the same." Souji smiled and balled up one of his sleeves. "Here, let me help."

Before he could react, Souji had removed his glasses and was wiping the sweat off of his face. Yosuke struggled a bit - he wasn't some little kid who'd smeared ice cream over his face and needed his mother to clean him up - but the sure, firm movements felt nice. He leaned into the touch for a moment, hoping Souji wouldn't notice or at least not say anything.

He felt a little better afterwards and a little foolish for wishing Souji had continued. "Thanks."

"No problem." Souji slid the glasses back on his face and squeezed his shoulders. His hands lingered longer than needed and he looked serious, as if he was on the verge of saying something. For a tense moment, they stood staring at each other and then he dropped his hands and stepped away. Yosuke felt colder for the loss of them.

"We're going left," Souji told the party. "Let's push through, we're almost done for today."

 **Floor 4**  
Souji expected the next day to be better. They'd all had a good night's rest and they knew what was waiting for them.

He was wrong; it was worse.

The steam seemed heavier than before, and in minutes his clothes were sticking to him, sweating dripping down his back and hair stuck to his face. He was constantly forced to wipe his hands on his pants to keep his sword from slipping.

It wasn't the bathhouse that made it worse, however. It was his lack of concentration.

Souji didn't consider himself a prideful person but he was proud of his self-control, especially when it came to his love life. He had never been the type of person to be distracted by his hormones; he didn't let a pretty face fill his thoughts while he was supposed to be listening to the teacher, or a smooth voice talk him into buying something he didn't need. He was attracted to Yosuke, but their friendship came first so he'd never made his interest too obvious in case it made the other boy uncomfortable. While he enjoyed looking at him, he didn't stare rudely or let Yosuke's smile pull his attention away from what was important. Yesterday's decision to clean Yosuke off and almost blurting out his feelings had been a near mistake but he'd gotten over it.

The important things now were fighting the Shadows and making their way to Kanji. Souji knew this. It made sense. But even with this in mind, he found that, for the first time in a long time, his self-control was failing him.

Suddenly, he couldn't get enough of Yosuke.

He made idle conversation just to hear Yosuke's voice and get his attention on him. Chie and Yukiko gave him surprised looks, not used to hearing him talk for such lengths about nothing at all. Souji was desperately spinning out whatever came to mind and probably looked like an idiot because of it, but Yosuke didn't appear to either mind or notice and easily held up the bulk of the conversation, which was exactly what Souji wanted.

He touched him, too, at every chance he got. He was the first there to lend a hand after Yosuke got knocked down in a fight, patted him on the back after a job well done, and, while he'd never purposely put himself in harm's way, he found himself wishing for stronger attacks just so Yosuke could push him out of the way.

And when he couldn't touch or listen, he watched like he was doing now, so involved that he made no effort to hide the fact. There was a Shadow to deal with and even though Yosuke was handling it, Souji knew that he should be alert until it was gone in case it pulled out any tricks. He walked in the front of their group, though, and rarely got the chance to see Yosuke's backside and since he was in the perfect position to do so now it would have been a shame to pass the chance up.

There would have been a better view without his uniform jacket in the way but Souji wasn't picky. If he played his cards right, he might even be able to convince Yosuke to remove it later.

Yosuke lowered his headphones as the Shadow melted away and caught his eye. "What's up, partner?"

Souji should have broken eye contact and turned away. Yosuke was breathing hard from exertion, the exposed length of his neck flushed and sweaty, and the sight was getting Souji worked up in a way that was going to be obvious very soon.

The thought didn't deter him, though. It made him step a little closer, excited. What would Yosuke do if he saw the state he was putting Souji in? Well, he'd have to do something about it. It'd be rude not to.

Wait, he was supposed to say something. He cast around, came up with, "You looked good," an understatement but the only thing that came to mind.

"Oh?" Yosuke rocked back on his heels, grinned. "You think so?"

"Yeah," Souji said, and he fidgeted with restless energy as Yosuke very obviously - really, no attempt to hide it at all - made a slow show of checking him out.

"You look good too."

Now that they had seen how good they looked with their clothes on, it only made sense that they should see how good they looked with them off.

Who was Souji to argue with sense?

He grabbed Yosuke's collar - and Yosuke just continued grinning, breathing a little harder now and rocking forward; he was going to make Souji do all the work, the tease - and had one hand on the top button when someone grabbed his wrist.

"Shouldn't we get moving?"

Souji gazed at Yukiko foolishly. What was she doing here? And Chie was behind her, an amused smile on her face.

"We've got things to do," she said, and Souji almost replied that he had a person to do.

Instead, he let go - Yosuke tsked in disappointment - turning away to hide his embarrassment at having been seen acting like a horny teenager. Maybe they would take his blush as an effect of the heat. "Right, let's go."

Embarrassment helped him regain some of his focus. He was going to pull himself together and stay on task.

It was going to be easy.

 **Floor 5**  
It was going to be about as hard as he was right now.

Somehow, Yosuke had backed him in a corner and was blocking his escape, arms resting against the wall on either side of his head.

"H-hey, partner..." Yosuke trailed off, his line of thought gone that quickly. His tongue peeked out to wet his lips and Souji couldn't stop himself from staring. Yosuke smiled, quick and nervous, and leaned closer. Behind his glasses, his pupils were so heavily dilated that Souji could barely make out the ring of color that encircled them.

 _Diffuse the situation_ , he ordered himself. _Be a leader._

Yosuke's knee parted his legs.

_Diffuse the situation._

His hands were on his hips.

_Diffuse the situation._

"Fuck, I want you."

Not what he meant to say.

Hard to argue with the way Yosuke kissed him, though.

It was hard to think after that, with everything a hazy jumble of lips and tongues and roaming hands. He was aware of working his hands under Yosuke's shirt, of feeling warm, sticky skin, and of the flash of pain when Yosuke jerked his collar aside to get at his neck.

It was only when Yosuke cupped his erection that he pulled back and tried to remember why they were standing in the middle of a bathhouse. His bedroom would have been much better. Then Yosuke began massaging him and Souji's mind went wonderfully blank. Why had he been trying to think of anything else again?

And in that moment of blankness he blurted something out: "Kanji." He didn't even know who Kanji was when he said it. That information took longer to return.

Yosuke glared at him. "Kanji? Why are you thinking of him?" His glare was replaced by a slow, sly smile. "Maybe I've just got to try harder to keep your attention on me."

Souji dodged his mouth - it landed on his ear and Yosuke bit him with a growl that was the _hottest thing ever_ and, shit, his knees buckled - and it took every ounce of willpower Souji had to keep his mind in the momentary clarity he had managed to acquire. He tried to pull away from Yosuke.

"We have to get out of here, we're not thinking straight. Where are the girls?" He hadn't noticed them leaving. Or had they left the girls? He couldn't remember.

"Off somewhere doing what we should be doing," Yosuke grumbled. He slipped his fingers though Souji's belt loops and ground against him.

Souji swallowed his moan and fought to keep himself from mimicking the action. "We're putting ourselves in danger splitting up like this." He stumbled away and forced himself not to look at Yosuke, even when he came behind him and pressed against him. A hand slid over his stomach and Yosuke rested his chin on his shoulder.

"Then the girls can watch, I don't care."

Two deep breaths - bad idea; his head spun, the hallway blurred, and he was more aware than ever of the lanky body molding to him and the hardness poking him - and then he pried Yosuke off and bolted down the hallway.

He thought he heard Yosuke stomp a foot behind him.

He found Chie with one hand up Yukiko's skirt and her jacket thrown to the side. Yukiko's head was thrown back and she was wearing a blissful expression that had probably been on his face moments before, but he didn't hesitate to pull them apart. Yukiko looked like she wanted to smack him with her fan.

"Get your clothes, we're leaving."

The instant Yosuke rounded the corner, he threw up a Goho-M and sent them back to the entrance.

Then he locked himself in the bathroom and took the coldest shower he'd ever experienced. It didn't help.

 **Floor 6**  
The next day, Souji tried a new tactic.

"We're changing our arrangement."

The others looked grateful. Or maybe that was embarrassment. It was hard to tell when the girls didn't want to meet his eyes and he flat-out refused to look at Yosuke (who was wearing his jacket open today, damn him).

"Chie, you're next to Yosuke. Yukiko, you're with me."

Battles went much smoother when he kept the girls on either side of him. He wasn't interested in their swishing skirts and with him as a barrier they didn't get distracted by each other.

It helped to not talk to Yosuke for anything other than giving orders. He quickly began to miss congratulating each other after fights but he reminded himself it was for the best. The one time he acted without thinking and grabbed Yosuke's shoulder, he found his hands wandering before he could stop himself.

Yosuke hadn't helped at all, slamming him into the nearest wall and whispering, "Fuck, good job, partner," while working his hand into his pants. It was the kind of congratulations he had no trouble going along with and only Chie prying them apart had kept Souji under control. He nodded stiffly in thanks, afraid to open his mouth, half-sure if he did nothing would come out but a frustrated scream.

His hand hadn't been enough the night before and he was sure it would be nothing compared to Yosuke's hand, a hand that had been so close—

He closed his eyes and counted to ten.

They were making progress and that was what mattered.

Not the fact that Yosuke was five feet away from him, Yosuke who had shown he was more than eager and willing, who felt great pressed against him, who'd left a hicky on his throat, who was stretchng and revealing he'd left a button undone on his fly—

Ten wasn't high enough. He started counting to a hundred.

 **Floor 7**  
Yosuke and Chie were lagging behind. Souji normally liked them all to stick close but he made an exception for the group's performance and his own sanity. He could hear the music coming from Yosuke's headphones, which were slung around his neck instead of over his ears as usual. He wasn't sure why Yosuke had changed his habit, but he appreciated something to listen to other than the Shadows slithering across the floor.

Chie cleared her throat. "What's that song called?"

"I don't know."

Souji almost turned around and stopped himself at the last moment. Yosuke knew the name of every song on his MP3 player. He must have been distracted; Souji could feel his eyes trying to burn holes through his back.

He was probably planning something. Well, Souji was ready for him. Except he wasn't supposed to be ready for him because he wasn't supposed to be thinking about him. Maybe Yosuke's plan was to make him think he was up to something just to get him to think about him again.

That evil genius.

Chie spoke up again. "It's catchy."

"Yeah."

"The lyrics, though, aren't they kind of..."

Filthy. Souji blushed at what he could hear, which turned out to be every word. That meant either the music was turned up way too loud or Yosuke—

"Hey, partner."

—must have managed to sneak up on him.

"Yes?" He didn't turn around. They weren't touching but Yosuke was so close to him that they might as well have been. He wanted to tug on his collar and cool off but forced himself to keep his hands at his side. No need to bring attention to his clothes and if he started pulling his shirt away he wasn't sure he'd be able to stop until it was on the floor next to Yosuke's.

"I think we missed something back there. Want to go check it out?"

They probably had. Souji liked to scour every inch of every floor, but the situation had forced him to put that habit aside in favor of getting through this as fast as possible. "No, that won't work. Go with Chie."

"Hmm..." The song drifted between them - the singer belted out something about sucking; Souji tried to slow his breathing - and Yosuke's mouth was right against his ear when he said, "I'd rather go with you."

"That's, um..." He hadn't tripped over his own tongue in years. He needed control. _Focus_. He closed his eyes, hoping the darkness would help him concentrate, and shook his head. "No. You and Chie go."

"You're in charge." He felt Yosuke's smile curl against the shell of his ear and bit down on the inside of his cheek to distract himself.

When he was sure the two were walking away, he allowed himself to sag against the wall.

"Are you alright?" Yukiko's hand was a light but reassuring pressure on his back. Compared to the heat of his body, it felt like a welcome block of ice.

Alright? He was leaning against a wall in a bathhouse created by a sexually confused teenager and harder than he'd ever been in his life because his best friend was hitting on him. "Not really." Time to think unsexy thoughts.

_Teddie's bear puns._

"There's something off about this place, don't you think?"

"To put it lightly."

 _Yosuke's Shadow revealing his deepest secrets._ Shit, he shouldn't have found that as hot as he did.

"Do you think a few days away would help us?"

"Probably." Souji drummed his fingers against the wall, wishing a Shadow would slink around the corner. Shadows weren't sexy. Except Yosuke's. Damn. "But I hate to leave Kanji here."

As much as he hated wasting time, however, and as worried as he was about saving Kanji before anything could happen to him, Yukiko was right. There was no way for them to continue on the way they were.

Yosuke and Chie were on their way back, Chie holding some item they had found. She smiled at Yukiko, who promptly forgot not only his existence but his orders as she went to meet them halfway.

_King Moron making out with someone. Himself._

Yosuke caught his eye and smiled, made a little 'come here' gesture with one hand.

_King Moron in a thong sucking on a topsicle—this isn't working._

"Let's call it a day."

 **Floor 8**  
Maybe he should have taken Yukiko's advice and given the group a couple of days to decompress, but with the top floor so close at hand Souji decided to push on. He was motivated by the fact that if they did well enough, they might be done tomorrow.

"Same deal as yesterday," he said, "but this time Chie's with me and Yukiko's with Yosuke."

Yesterday hadn't gone as well as he wanted, but the position change had at least worked. He saw no reason to revert back and give up the one thing that had provided him with some relief.

Battles were still smooth and even exploring went well. He kept an eye on Chie to make sure she didn't try to slip off with Yukiko or - if his own experiences were any indication of what she was feeling - simply turn around and try to make out with her in the hallway. He kept up his habit of not talking to Yosuke much, but he was surprised to find that Yosuke didn't seem to mind. In fact, he wasn't giving him any trouble at all.

Yosuke was ignoring him.

Well, that was unexpected. Souji shouldn't have minded; it got the results he wanted, after all, and was one less thing to worry about.

He shouldn't have minded but he did.

 _How can he just ignore me?_ It didn't matter that Souji had done his best to ignore Yosuke yesterday. It was different when he did it. Yosuke wasn't allowed to ignore him.

_Maybe he's gotten over it. Maybe he's figured out how to fight whatever's in the air or built up an immunity._

That'd be handy.

_Or maybe he was just being a jerk._

That was more likely.

"Is something wrong?" Chie asked. "You look like you're in a bad mood. I know this place is making us all a little crazy but just try and focus on how close we are to being done."

Souji rolled his shoulders to release some tension and muttered, "Yosuke's ignoring me."

"...Are you pouting?"

"No." He straightened out his face.

"You are!"

"How would you feel if Yukiko suddenly acted like you didn't exist?"

"Maybe I'd get a break."

"What?" Just what were the girls doing when he wasn't looking?

Chie blushed. "I said hey, look, a Shadow! Let's go fight it."

They were working well. Chie and Yukiko were keeping their physical contact to a minimum and rarely complained when he pulled them apart, the Shadows were falling like dominos, and Yosuke wasn't trying to molest him. Yosuke wasn't looking at him, talking to him, touching him, or kissing him. As far as he could tell, Yosuke wasn't thinking about him at all.

That was unacceptable.

Souji was going to make Yosuke look at him if it was the last thing he did. Never mind the fact that he'd never seduced a person in his life. He'd figure it out. Wasn't that what instinct was for?

 **Floor 9**  
"You're slacking, Yosuke," he said after a fight, and the other boy's attention was immediately on him. No matter what game he was playing, Yosuke didn't like having his fighting critiqued.

"Oh?" He looked away pointedly, trying to hide the fact that he'd ever been looking at Souji. "What'd I do wrong?"

Souji invaded his personal space until it would have been awkward for Yosuke not to look at him. He continued to stare at a spot on the wall, but that was fine. Souji didn't need eye contact to get his point across. He reached under Yosuke's shirt and ran his nails up his spine.

"You're not hitting hard enough," he explained. "Put your back into it."

"Right." Yosuke fidgeted and still refused to look at him, but he didn't pull away either. "I'll remember that."

After the next battle, Souji draped himself over Yosuke's back and lowered his headphones. "You did better this time," he said, kissing his ear and leaving before he could respond.

When Yosuke cut himself on his kunai, Souji was there to lick the blood off his fingers.

Later, when he double-backed to get a chest, he groped Yosuke as he passed.

"Having some trouble keeping your hands to yourself?" Chie asked when he rejoined her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

For all his efforts, Yosuke never responded and seemed more determined than ever to ignore him. Finally, he gave in and changed their arrangement again. "Chie, you and Yukiko together. Yosuke, come here."

Yukiko immediately reached out as she joined Chie and the two held hands. Impractical to do so here, he wanted to complain, but all he could think of was how he wanted to hold Yosuke's hand. If he hadn't thought it'd get pushed aside, he might have tried it. He had the feeling that would hurt a lot more than having his flirting ignored.

"You look like something's on your mind," Yosuke said, the first time he'd started a conversation with Souji that day. His eyes were on Souji's mouth and Souji realized he was biting his lip. He stopped, though he hadn't noticed he was doing it at all.

"I think...you're messing with me."

"Oh?"

"Playing hard to get."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said. Souji watched the corner of his mouth twitch as he tried to contain a smile.

"You've been ignoring me."

"Isn't that what you wanted?" Yosuke had the gall to look amused. "Ignore each other and focus on the Shadows, right?"

Souji stopped walking and the group came to a stop. He caught Yosuke's eye. "So nothing I can do will get your attention?"

There was no reason for the smug smile that appeared on Yosuke's face but he looked very pleased about something. "I'm just doing what our leader wants."

"Alright. Then try and ignore this." Souji dropped to his knees and attached his mouth to the front of Yosuke's pants.

"Don't know if I can do that, partner." At least, that's what he thought Yosuke was trying to say. The way he dissolved into moans in the middle of the sentence made it hard to be sure.

"That's the idea," Souji would have said if he hadn't been trying to suck Yosuke's dick through the fabric.

"Souji!"

He grunted, too busy to bother forming a sentence. Yosuke was trying to push down his pants but considering that he didn't want to take the time to undo his fly and kept pressing Souji's face closer to his crotch, he wasn't making much progress. Not that Souji cared. Even if he only had a mouthful of cloth, this was still making him so hard that he got dizzy.

Someone pulled his hair and repeated the action harder when he didn't move.

"Ow, dammit." He pulled back. "Chie, stop it!"

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked, tugging until he had no choice but to get up or lose a chunk of hair.

"He was trying to suck my dick!" Yosuke waved his arms.

"Souji, you know this was his plan all along, right? Ignore you until you went crazy?"

Yosuke glared at her. "And it worked."

Souji was throbbing in his pants so hard he thought he might burst. He wanted nothing more than to punch himself for playing Yosuke's game, get back on his knees, or force Yosuke to his. Those two urges were the strongest, but leaders didn't get, or give, blowjobs in front of their party.

Even when they really, really wanted to.

He swallowed his disappointment and threw up a Goho-M.

 **Floor 10**  
"This is going to be the last day our group is like this," Souji declared. The others looked unsure and curious but Souji didn't bother to elaborate before urging them into the bathhouse.

Today, he had a plan.

The first part involved clearing out every Shadow on the floor and he set to it with a vigor that he hadn't possessed in much too long. After days of nerves and tension, his enthusiasm threw the others off and they wasted more time being confused than trying to flirt or make out. Eventually, they got caught up in his attitude, fighting and working together with the kind of ease that made them so effective.

Maybe focusing like this was enough to keep them from falling over each other. He considered it briefly but didn't think he could manage being excited for excitement's sake. It was the thought of the plan that spurred him on and if he let go of that he'd lose steam and everything would return to the way it had been.

Energized, he abandoned his old tactic of avoiding Yosuke, who was thrown off by this enough that for a while he forgot he was trying to get into Souji's pants.

Just for a while, though.

He took advantage of pulling Souji up after a battle and caught him up in a kiss. Souji responded and laughed at Yosuke's eagerness as best as he could when he was out of breath. He gave an exaggerated moan that caught in his throat and turned into a real one as Yosuke shifted his thigh.

"Come on, you and me right now, partner."

"Later," Souji said, and gave Yosuke one last kiss before he broke away. "I've got a plan."

"Does it involve me fucking you until you can't remember your name?"

Souji just grinned and went to separate Chie and Yukiko, who had taken advantage of his distracted state to latch onto each other.

"You can do it but we can't?" Chie complained. "That's so unfair!"

"Yeah, sorry about that."

When he thought they had taken care of every Shadow, he triple-checked the floor, looking for the perfect spot. "The best way to deal with a problem is to confront it," he explained as they came to a pair of rooms that looked suitable - one behind the other with only one of them connected to the hallway.

He ushered Chie and Yukiko into the back room and blocked the door. "We've been running from this problem and every day it gets worse. We're jumpy, moody, and can't focus. So we're going to take care of this right now."

There was a growing realization on Yukiko's face. "How?"

"I'm going to close this door and leave the two of you alone."

"Souji—" Chie started.

"You can talk or just sit here or screw each other's brains out."

Yukiko's fan was a blur as she worked to cool herself. "You can—"

"I don't care as long as long as—"

"Souji, just close the door already!" Chie lunged forward and pushed him back, slamming the door so hard he was surprised it didn't rebound.

Souji huffed. He'd spent a lot of time preparing that speech.

Annoyance disappeared, however, when he turned and found Yosuke staring at him with wild eyes. "Is this that later you were talking about, partner?"

He smiled, and found Yosuke on him faster than he'd thought possible, their mouths sealed together before he could draw a breath, and his fingers working clumsily at their pants. Souji could have laughed at his enthusiasm if he weren't matching it, running his hands over every inch of Yosuke that he could reach.

Souji sucked on his tongue then thrust his own in and out of Yosuke's mouth in an echo of the more obscene acts he'd fantasized about. He wanted to do everything to Yosuke, every dirty, filthy, marvelous idea that'd kept him up and frustrated for the past few nights, but the ability to do anything more elaborate than grind against Yosuke was beyond him.

With a tug, the pressure below his waist eased only to be replaced by something more unbearable: Yosuke's hand.

Souji nearly came right then and there.

He'd never had someone else's hand on him before and his own touch paled in comparison. Yosuke's strokes were hurried and clumsy, nothing at all like the smooth, even pulls Souji used on himself, but they were firm and hot, and caused Souji to pant against his mouth, desperate to feel more.

Yosuke separated their mouths and hid his face in Souji's neck when he tried to reconnect them. "No, come on, partner, you've got to do it too. Fuck, _please_ , touch me..."

Souji worked a hand down between them and stroked Yosuke, but the way he shook and his need do concentrate only on thrusting into Yosuke's grip made his movements sloppy.

Maybe Yosuke didn't mind. He muttered, "Finally, finally," and Souji had no idea how he was able to talk when all he could manage were moans and gasps.

He closed his eyes when he felt the familiar pressure start to build up inside of him and gave up any pretense of pleasuring Yosuke, digging his nails into Yosuke's arms.

"No, look at me, Souji." Yosuke gripped his chin firmly and turned their faces towards each other. "I want to see—"

And of all the things Souji'd done over the past few days, this moment made him the most embarrassed. He tried to look at anything else, but Yosuke was insistent and they locked eyes and _something_ he did with his hand sent Souji over the edge. The rush of pleasure that crashed through him left no room for embarrassment or even thought.

Momentarily overcome, Souji sagged so that Yosuke was the only thing holding him up.

"You okay?" Yosuke rubbed Souji's back with unsteady hands. His hips were moving, little thrusts in a subtle effort to create friction.

Souji was tempted to stay where he was and enjoy the heat coming off of Yosuke, but the idea of getting Yosuke off was more tempting. He kissed him, bit his lip and nipped along his jaw, his throat, his collarbone, working his way lower and lower until he was on his knees and taking Yosuke into his mouth.

Yosuke tried to say something. He failed.

Souji knew the basics of giving a blowjob, though he'd never done it - mouth around the top, hand around the area he couldn't reach. Still, he had no real idea of what would feel good so he flattened his tongue to lick the underside that was so sensitive on him and worked his mouth up and down like he sometimes did on topsicles. He kept his eyes on Yosuke's face the whole time, hoping that this was half as good as what Yosuke had given him.

"Shit, shit, shit..." Yosuke had one hand tight in Souji's hair, and the other braced against the wall to keep his balance. "I'm right there, almost—"

Souji pulled back and flicked his tongue across the tip, taking him back in right as Yosuke groaned and came, his hand twisting. He jumped, but tightened his arm around Yosuke's waist and did his best to catch it all.

Afterwards, Yosuke leaned all his weight on the arm against the wall and stared at Souji red-faced and heaving for breath. He combed his fingers through Souji's hair, soothing the hurt he'd inflicted. "Hey," he managed, in an odd moment of clarity, "you don't have to swallow that or anything."

But because he knew it'd make Yosuke hot, Souji didn't just swallow. He leaned forward and licked Yosuke clean.

Yosuke joined him on the floor and Souji cuddled up to him, absently caressing whatever part of Yosuke he could reach. It wasn't his intent to get Yosuke worked up again, not really, but he didn't complain when Yosuke started returning the touches with a little more energy.

Instead, he made a note to thank Kanji for being kidnapped.

Sometime later, as they slumped against each other too sated to continue fooling around, he got Yosuke's attention.

"Hmm?" Yosuke kept pressing lazy kisses to every inch of Souji that caught his interest.

"Let's go save Kanji."

"What?" He paused and came back to himself. "Now?"

"Yeah. I think now is good." For the first time in days, Souji felt like he'd actually be able to do what they had come here to do. Despite the pleasant haze that enveloped him and how good it felt next to Yosuke, his mind was clearer than it had been in a while. "I feel like I've been recharged. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I get you." Yosuke straightened up and kissed Souji's nose. "Lead on, partner."

Just before Souji knocked on the other door, he heard, "Oh, oh, Chie... No, wait, not there, I'm— _snrk_ , hahahaha!"

After an uncomfortable silence, Yosuke said, "Hey, do you think Yukiko was laughing because she—"

"I'm not thinking about it."

Souji'd give them a few more minutes alone.

 **Boss Floor**  
"Oh my," Kanji's Shadow purred when it caught sight of them, "it seems like our visitors have had no trouble getting in touch with their inner feelings. None at all."

The group made a hasty effort to look presentable but Souji knew it was a lost cause. Yukiko's headband missing and he had stain on the front of his pants; there was no hiding that they'd been up to something.

Luckily, the battle prompted a quick change in discussion. Unluckily, Kanji didn't forget it after he accepted his Shadow.

"What the hell is up with you guys? I was having a crisis over here and you were all screwing each other?"

"If it helps," Souji said, "I was with Yosuke and Chie was with Yukiko. So the whole confused about your sexuality thing? Not going to be a problem."

As it turned out, it did help, though not in the way he thought. From then on Kanji only had to mention the bathhouse to get Yosuke to stop teasing him.


End file.
